A Daughter Of Poseidon
by kate3archery
Summary: Thalassa discovers she is a daughter of Poseidon. She is sent to find a magic item which could unite Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon once more. Rated T for: Nico/OC mild romance, mild language (in my opinion), and possibly death. This is my first story ever, so constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE ~ TESSA GOMEZ

I wake up for the second time, the smell of ocean air and sea salt drifting into my nose. Living next to the ocean is quite a thrill, at least for my mom and I.

My dad still thinks it's better to live in Dallas, but why live in the city if you live in a state with a beach? The first time I woke up, I thought I deserved to go

back to sleep for a few more minutes so that I could at least escape the reality of my messed up life. But now I'm awake. I sit in front of my delicate white

vanity mirror and think about my 'messed up' life. People usually think my life is so easy and carefree just because, well, we have money. Behind the steady

flow of green paper, are lies and secrets. I hate lying, and I hate keeping secrets.

For years, my parents have promised to let me know secrets about our family, and about myself. They say that these secrets are potentially harmful to me,

and that they just care about my safety, blah, blah. Something has always seemed off about my parents. They shut me out when I ask about our family

history, or things related to my birth, for that matter. People usually don't want to talk to me until they see my house, my car, and the presents I give to

close friends. Even when I was little, people thought I was weird. When I was five, I would always go pet the horses at the stables in my neighborhood at

night. I could have sworn that the horses could talk and that I could talk to them too. Ever since then, horses have been my best friends. The only living

things I could rely on. Of course, I haven't seen a horse in years, and if I did see one, I would probably not try to talk to them. Being the daughter of a

1980's swimming national champion, people expect me to be swimming all the time. Guess what? I don't swim all the time.

I swim as often as the average cat does because A) As a cruel joke, people push me underwater to see if I'll drown, B) I do not have a pool at my house,

and C) Public pools are the breeding grounds of bacteria and perverts.

Okay, reality check. I shuffle over to my clothes. Jeans, a navy blue top, a black leather jacket, and original black converse shoes. Yawning, I glance at the

clock. As usual, I'm late. It's 10:58 and I haven't even eaten breakfast or done my hair. I have to meet my friend today because he's going to be sent off to

another boarding school in a few months. He will only be in Texas for a few more days, and then I just won't see him again until next year. Just like last year.

By the way, I just barely managed to finish three whole school years at the same middle school. Just barely. My private school did want to kick me out, but

since the accusations were made on the last month of school, my headmaster let me stay. Just then, my mom yells, "Come on Lassie! You can't be late!" I

cringe at my mom's pet name for me. It is, quite literally, a pet name because Lassie is also a dog. My actual name is Thalassa Gomez, but I go by Tessa. I

run over and jump into my dad's electric blue car.

About my dad: being an Engineering Technician, he loves to chatter on about new airplane models and about their aerodynamics, but if I said it was

interesting, I'd be lying. A new chauffer is driving me today. His name is William Blakely. Our butler, Rob, sits in the back seat with me to "ensure my safety."

I just find both of them kind of awkward. "Hello Mr. Blakely. Hello Rob." "Hello." Rob says with an enthusiastic smile. "Hello Miss Thalassa. You are to be

driven to the mall next to the Cheesecake Factory. I will pick you up at your call. Correct? " "Yes Mr. Blakely." During the ride to the mall, I think of my

dream. It seemed like the ocean was talking to me. It could have been a person next to me. Seems like a teenage boy. The details start to sink in. Or maybe,

the thoughts are coming in now. I'm asleep and I know it. He is desperately trying to tell me something, but it's almost as if the connection is breaking. I can

see him now. He has the same shade of soft black hair as mine, except I like to dye the ends of my hair blonde. My hair is wavier than his tangled hair, and

he has tanned skin, two shades darker than my only slightly tanned skin. I can't complain about my dark green eyes, but I feel a pang of envy when I see

that his eyes are the very same shade of sea green I have secretly yearned for. I'd have to say, he is pretty attractive, but I feel connected to him, kind of a

strange sisterly connection. That would explain why I felt immediately competitive. I try to hear what he is saying, but it's like having the T.V on mute and

watching pictures go by.

When our butler opens the car door, I am suddenly awakened. I see my friend Sebastian and run to him, grinning. His amber eyes

seem to carry the golden sunlight with them. "Hey, I've missed you!" He exclaims, picking me up and spining me around. I realize that the chauffer is

waiting to leave at my command. "Thanks guys." I call out. "A chauffer and a butler. So the empire has grown." Sebastian teases. "Don't you ever go away

from me like that again Sebastian!" I say, lightly slapping his arm. "Happy early fourteenth birthday, Tessa." "Thank you." The rest of the day we drink

smoothies and eat cheesecake until his wallet is empty and our bellies are full. We talk, mostly about our suspicions that his dad and my dad aren't really our

birth fathers. The conspiracy started when we were six. We noticed our moms' high school and college friends were always gossiping at the country clubs that

we look nothing like our parents, and that that's why my mom and his mom were best friends, because they both had kids with other men, and that they bet

that they don't know who the fathers are. As we got older, we understood what that meant. Now, I believe it is the truth. In one picture that my mom kept

hidden in a silver box, there was a green eyed man with a blue Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts holding me. I only got to see the picture once before my

parents dismissed it as not being me. I can't find it anymore, which I find incredibly suspicious. When I arrive home, I plop down and read a book. After all,

yesterday was the first day of summer vacation, and I should enjoy this summer before it leaves me behind.


	2. Chapter 2

TESSA GOMEZ

When I get home, I read a brand new novel, and finish it, which is quite the accomplishment with my ADHD and Dyslexia. By the time I stop reading, it's already 11:49, 11 minutes until midnight.

The shadows are dense, and the moon is crescent. Being a night owl, I usually take midnight walks on the beach when there isn't anyone around.

Our butler knows I gets out, but since I know that he uses my parents' hot tub when they aren't home, I blackmailed him into covering for me at all costs. In my opinion, it is a fair deal because he's making me take the blame for the hair clogging the drain in the hot tub (long story).

I open my window and make a small jump onto the bushes. I love how sneaking out always gives me a mini rush of adrenaline, at least enough to keep me running in the middle of the night. When I reach a giant rock, my 2 mile marker, I step out to the edge of the seashore and take off my Converse shoes.

I let my feet soak in the warm water, and then head back to the sand before an unknown force takes me away. Seriously, these waters are so murky, that I wouldn't know if a dead body was rotting away in there. Tonight is surprisingly cool, as cool as a Texas summer could get. I am thankful for my clothing selection of a thin sweater over a tank top and running shorts.

I smile, reminding myself that this is my real freedom. Singing before heading home has become a habit for me, something I just do without really thinking much about. This is really the only place and time I will sing. It reminds me of my grandmother and me singing together here. I sing a song and as soon as I finish the song, I notice a presence behind me.

Crap. A boy that I have never seen before is standing right behind me. I automatically expect that he's probably here to tell me something like, "shut up you're keeping the neighborhood awake", but that is absolutely ridiculous because I don't live in a neighborhood. He looks intimidating, with an aura of fear and strangely, death. I think back to the joke I made to myself about the possibility of a dead body being in the water…

"How long have you been standing there," I ask in my coldest, steeliest voice.

"Long enough to hear you sing," He says coolly. Apparently, he is immune to my 'tough voice.'

"Oh. Excuse the howling. I swear I am not a werewolf," I say, forgetting to use my tough voice, and instead using a joke.

Well now would be a good time to run, but I would seem like a total weirdo. To my surprise, he chuckles.

"No, I actually like your voice. Kind of why I stayed," he says.

For a moment, I catch a flicker of embarrassment in his voice. All of the sudden, his expression hardens. The small flame of friendship that had once sparked was just extinguished. I feel slightly confused, but then I think, what if he's dealing with stuff too? Why else would someone be walking on this beach at night?

"Do your parents know you're here?" I immediately know that that's the problem when he winces.

He doesn't answer. I'm not good at making friends when I try, but he seems lonely. It's worth a shot.

Okay, I should start small.

"What's your name?"

"Nico. Nico di Angelo."

I recognize his last name as being Italian, which happens to be one of the two languages I know besides English.

"I'm Tessa Gomez. Nico, I know that we've just met, but I know that something's wrong. If you feel like talking about it, I promise not to judge you or tell anyone, no matter what it is."

He looks at me with big black watery eyes that only show hurt. Now, he looks a lot younger and a lot less intimidating than he looked moments ago. For a moment, he's silent. We end up sitting down, looking at the vast ocean.

"My mother was killed by… my dad's brother when I was little. He was trying to kill my sister and I, but he ended up killing my mother instead. My sister died saving our friends a couple years ago. My dad is practically not even there. He says he is proud of me, but he thinks that my sister would have done better. I've found my half-sister and she's helping me cope with all this, but I still feel kind of alone. Hell, I can count all of my friends on my fingers, and people tend to avoid me. Why are you being so nice to me? You have every reason to run away. Just go," he says, a glistening tear running down his cheek.

"No. I have no reason to run away. I admire you."

"For what?"

"For being strong minded. For giving me a chance and opening up to me. I don't have many friends either."

"You're the first person I have ever talked to about this, you know. I actually trust you."

"I'm glad I could help."

I realize that I enjoy his company. He doesn't seem to be like the rest of the guys. He is cute, but kind of edgy. Maybe he's just misunderstood? He looks to be an average rebellious teenager like me. His messy black hair, light skin, and black eyes make him look mysterious. He's wearing a black AC/DC shirt, ripped black jeans, and ratty Converse sneakers like mine. I have never had an experience like this with anyone in my life, where I feel free with someone, not tied down with a chain. My friends, and even Sebastian, make me feel like I have to tie my free-spirited side down.

We sit there, not needing to say anything. I look out to the vast, free ocean. I almost feel like curling up into a ball and falling asleep right there.

"Hey, don't you have to get home by now," asks Nico, and I realize that I didn't bother to think about that.

"My parents are asleep. I sneak out all the time. Don't you?"

"I guess so. But it's not sneaking out if people know you do it, right?"

"Well, I guess I should get back home."

"You walked over here?"

"Yeah. My house is two miles down that way," I say, pointing a finger in the direction of my house.

"I'll walk you over," Nico says, not sounding the slightest bit bothered.

"Really? Thanks," I say, and I really mean it. At least there are still _some_ gentlemen on Earth.

We get up and as we pass by the huge rock, he picks something up. In the faint light, I see a jacket and… no way. It's a _sword_. A freaking _sword_.

"Why on Earth did you bring a sword to the beach?"

"You see a sword," he says incredulously.

"Yes, why are you surprised?"

He bites his lip in worry. As if on cue, something the size of a rhino jumps from behind the boulders. I barely manage to dive out of the path of its jaws, but it manages to give me a gnarly gash running from just under my right knee to my right ankle.

"What the Hell!" I yelp, not from pain, but mostly because of the surprise attack. When the pain kicks in, I'm probably going to be spilling out a large array of profanities. I watch as the shadows engulf him; he disappears, and then reappears behind the monster in a split second. He stabs at its leg, and when it falls, he stabs at its heart. It pulverizes, and the dust is whisked away into the wind.

This is very surreal. I don't have the slightest explanation for any of what just happened, unless mythology is real. But… mythology can't be real.

"I owe you an explanation, don't I?"

"It better be the truth. The _complete_ truth," I say, attempting to use my toughest voice.

Seeing my wound, Nico reaches into the pocket of his jacket and pulls out a flask with a weird gold colored liquid.

"Drink all of it."

"Um, what is that?"

"Ambrosia. It will heal you faster."

"Isn't this what gods drink in mythology?"

"Yeah, Greek and Roman. You like mythology?"

"Yep, I like reading the stories of heroes, monsters, and gods."

"Good. It saves a lot of explaining."

"So who are you, really?"

"I'm still Nico di Angelo. I'm a demigod son of Hades. Dead things call me ghost king, probably out of fear."

"I'm not sure what you are. You saw the sword and the hellhound, which you should not have been able to see."

At this point, I am slightly freaked out, but I feel like I owe him trust. After all, he trusted me.


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY CHARACTERS IN THE PJO SERIES

NICO DI ANGELO

"So if I'm not, like, a normal person, what am I supposed to be?" Tessa asks.

I admit that I do feel a twinge of guilt for keeping information from her, but with both of us being demigods, telling her will only attract more monsters than I would like right now.

"If you're contemplating whether or not to lie to me, then I suggest you tell me the truth," she says, not forgetting to turn and look at me with a pouty face. I feel a sudden blush trickle down my cheeks, but she probably doesn't notice this because the sun hasn't come up yet. I silently thank Apollo for being lazy. Then the meaning of her words set in and I realize that she wants the truth, which is unaffordable at the moment.

I don't say anything, causing her to be real quiet for what seems like an eternity.

"Tessa, I really wish I could give you more information but it's just something that your parents have to do for you."

"Why?"

"I promise you'll know everything when I get you to your house."

We walk down a paved driveway leading to a modern Spanish style mansion. Her parents must be famous or something.

"What do your parents do for a living?" I blurt out. "Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. I totally understand. My mom trains girls to be Olympic swimmers and my dad is an Engineer."

"Cool," I say halfheartedly, taking in the view of the impressive house.

"I left a window open so that-" The moment she steps near her window, she stops talking.

I jog over and see that the windows to her room are all broken, leaving shards of glass everywhere.

Suddenly, I can hear thefamiliar low growl of hellhounds. My senses are sharper in dark places with lots of restless souls, so naturally she hasn't heard a thing.

"Get inside!" I whisper-yell.

She steps through the broken windows in a sort of clumsy manner. I get the strangest feeling of déjà vu, but I dismiss the thought. Maybe I've seen someone climb through a window before?

I step in after her as she pulls pieces of broken glass out of the bottom of her sneakers. Following suit, I pull glass out of my jacket sleeves.

Her room looks dilapidated. All of her furniture is knocked over, and there is a huge dent in the wall.

I get the feeling that it wasn't like that before. I mean, even Percy couldn't possibly be that messy.

She takes one look around and starts running.

"MOM! DAD!"

"Tessa, wait! There could be-"

"I have to find my parents!"

Not having a choice, I run after her and draw my sword.

"Thalassa, I think it would be best if you-" A satyr starts.

"Where's my mom and dad?" Tessa interrupts.

"In the room, but-"

"Thanks Rob," She says, too worried to even notice his satyr legs.

"I AM IN CHARGE OF YOUR SAFETY AND-"Tessa runs past him, leaving me alone with the satyr.

He sniffs the air around me.

"You're either a son of Hades or a son of Hecate."

"Uh-"

"YOU sent the hellhounds here!" The satyr shouts, reminding me too much of a school counselor to be intimidating.

"No he didn't. Nico and I both got attacked by a hellhound, and if it weren't for him I would be a pile of bones by now." Tessa explains, coming out of a room with her parents following behind her. Tessa's mother looks just like her, but instead has shoulder length, brown curly hair and honey colored eyes. Her father looks like he could have come straight off the pages of a J. Crew magazine, if it weren't for the '_I love the smell of jet fuel in the morning_' PJs. The crossbow loaded with imperial gold bolts that he is holding tells me that he is not just a mortal.

Her mother sits down on a leather couch and takes some pills, falling asleep with a tear rolling down her cheek.

The man swings his crossbow up, making it collapse into a wrist guard.

"I'm Henry and that's my wife Amanda," he says with an extended arm.

"Pleased to meet you," I say, shaking his hand, "I'm Nico di Angelo."

"We need to talk. All of us do." says Henry, gesturing to Rob the satyr.

"I'm guessing you want to talk about mythology." says Tessa.

"How much do you know?"

"Oh just basic stuff like mythology is real, he is a son of Hades, and that somehow I haven't noticed any of this before now!" she says, using various hand gestures.

"Lassie, you also haven't noticed that Rob is a satyr," says Henry with a chuckle.

Lassie? That's a funny nickname.


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY CHARACTERS IN THE PJO SERIES

TESSA GOMEZ

Dear Diary:

So the entire night, my dad tried shooting all of the monsters that came too close to our house from the balcony. Nico and I were supposed to get some rest on the third floor, a big open room, away from the increasing array of monsters. But Nico insisted that first he help clear some of them out before falling asleep.

I more than anything wanted to help too, but the only weapon i know how to properly use is a sword, which can't do much at a long distance. I could've used a bow, but it would have been a complete waste of arrows. Rob played a song on reed pipes, which sounded atrocious to say the least, but somehow it made monsters momentarily freeze just long enough for dad to shoot them with imperial gold bolts. Nico conjured up some zombies from the ground, and asked them to kill the monsters. He barely had the strength to mutter the command before passing out. I caught him in my arms and just about dragged him inside. I figured that if I fed him ambrosia he would wake up and not get any rest, so i just set him down on the carpet. I watched to make sure he wouldn't die or anything, even though dad said Nico just used quite a bit of his power tonight, and that he would be fine.

When I went back outside, dad and Rob took turns explaining everything from the fact that dad isn't really my dad to the fact that i'm a daughter of Poseidon. The story goes that my mom, Amanda, is a Greek legacy of Nyx and Hecate and my dad, Henry, is a Roman demigod son of Vulcan. They met in high school and were instantly in love, though they weren't even supposed to know each other because Greeks and Romans were always separated. Anyways, my dad had to go back to Camp Jupiter to get ready for some war, and my mom started college. They broke up. Then, mom met Poseidon at this very beach and they had me (my dad concluded this part with an eye twitch). When dad came back from Camp Jupiter, he found my mom with a newborn baby that wasn't even his own. Mom and dad ended up getting back together, got married, and moved to Dallas. He also told me that my friend Sebastian's dad is Apollo. Then he told me to go get some sleep. But with having a bombshell like that dropped on me, sleep wasn't necessarily a priority.

I went upstairs to check on Nico. It felt wierd to constantly check on someone that was doing fine, so i went back downstairs to get some sleeping pills. Then something really scary happened. I don't remember any of this part, so I'll just tell you what Nico described seeing. He said that he woke up to a billion voices coming from downstairs. He knew something was wrong when he saw me pour out all the pills onto the granite countertop. I stood there and stared at the pills with a wierd expression. He grabbed my shoulder and when I turned around, I started crying like crazy. I do remember that my knees were about to buckle and I was hyper-ventilating. That night was traumatic, but i managed to calm down enough for my parents to explain that what i thought was a relapsing depression is actually a sort of curse. I have a major choice to make, and whichever one i pick, i'll end up unhappy anyway, which is why i was born with the so called 'gift' of melancholy. She was told that having this melancholy has gotten me used to not expecting too much happiness. And apparantly that melancholy combined with having the blood of Nyx and Hecate in me results in attracting terrible spirits and demons wanting to take my body from me. So just like that, my future was decided the moment I was born. And I don't even get anything special to compensate for all this. I mean, I guess i'm kind of attractive, but there's plenty of girls prettier than me. And I am smart, but i have some trouble learning.

"Now on to the big problem," my mom told me. They said that the reason that Poseidon was checking this seemingly insignificant Galveston beach was that two realms were starting to collide- death and the sea. By the way, that's why Nico was here in the first place. Basically, Galveston is like, the third most haunted city in America (third to only Gettysburg and New Orleans, Nico pointed out) and Poseidon was getting frustrated with all this death lingering around his realm. He fears that Hades wants to make it a stronger part of his realm, just like he did with New Orleans (Nico loves New Orleans, if anyone was wondering).

Now that's not such a nice thing to hear. Not the part about loving New Orleans, but the dispute between my- um, _biological_ _dad_ and Nico's dad. Theres more monsters about an hour away. We know this because my great grandmother, a daughter of Hecate, charmed a watch to detect monsters. So right now, Nico and I are hopefully about to get at least five hours of sleep before going off to Camp Half-Blood with Rob.

I had to write this to calm myself down, just spill out my feelings, ya know? I'm not sure that it worked, though.


End file.
